Troublesome
by Lost to the Hoping
Summary: Moment to moment; the progress of love between a Kage and a man of the shadows. ShikaGaa- Shonen Ai.
1. Go

**1) Go**

**Characters: ShikamaruxGaara (implied), Kankuro, Temari**

**Summary: Okay, so maybe challenging the Kazekage was a bad idea after all.**

**Warning: Spoilers (if you squint, maybe), humor, light shonen-ai**

**Rating: K+**

-

It had started out simple enough. Shikamaru was on his monthly visit to Suna (he and Temari traded off every two weeks and then escorted each other in their respective villages). Deciding that she wanted to catch him up on the gossip (not that he cared, though saying so was likely to get him a headache), Temari brought him to a tea shop and he bought tea (he always bought the tea, no matter which village they were in, because that, too, would cause a headache).

After a while of being bored out of his mind, Kankuro stumbled upon them in the little tea shop and joined them, laughing and riling his sister up, then dragging Shikamaru in on it. Shikamaru, of course, did not want to get involved (again with the headache issue), and thus distracted them with some stray gossip from Konoha (he thought he remembered Ino telling it to him over coffee. It then occurred to Shikamaru that he had an odd way of attracting abusive blondes to himself; maybe that should be remedied...)

What he did not expect was the conversation to eventually boil down to Temari and Kankuro making bets.

"You should have more faith in your Kazekage!" Kankuro said heatedly, standing and leaning over the table to glare at his sister.

Temari, across from him, had also stood and was leaning over as well. Her eyes were inches from her brother's. "Oh, please," she sneered, rolling her eyes. "Gaara's all brawns and barely any brains!"

"Gaara's a great strategist!" refuted the male.

"Yeah, great strategies. 'Kill, kill, kill- Oh, let's not forget! KILL!'" snarled the female.

Kankuro looked dumbstruck, but riled quickly. "He's not like that anymore!" he protested, and Shikamaru winced at his slightly high-pitched tone.

"Prove it!"

"Ha! I'll prove he's a great strategist, AND get money off you. Next paycheck says Gaara can beat Shika in Go!"

Temari, having pulled out her fan, slammed it's tip on the table, smirking. "You're on, Kazekage's whipping boy!"

"Whipping boy?! Why you-!"

Needless to say, they were shortly kicked out and told not to come back. However, they were not bothered by this (especially since it had happened before. Twice) and quickly set to the task of finding their beloved brother. Shikamaru wondered if they'd even bother asking him to do it, but didn't comment (other than a muttered, "Troublesome.") while he was dragged off to Kami-knew-where.

"Troublesome."

-

There was a silence that stretched on between the two males, becoming more awkward as the minutes ticked by and both shifted restlessly in their seats. Temari and Kankuro had disappeared, bored, after the first hour of the game, leaving the two to their own devices, but it was quite obvious that Shikamaru would have to break the tension soon.

How troublesome.

Gaara stirred from his almost comatose contemplative doze, reaching forward and picking a piece up. He then place it down with a soft, glassy _click_ on the desired space. "Your turn," he said unnecessarily.

The wheels were already turning in Shikamaru's head, eyes roving over the arrow-like pieces. They fell into silence once more, the Leaf nin staring intently at the pieces. Then he realized; maybe challenging the Kazekage to an extended and drawn out game of Go wasn't such a good idea in the first place. If he moved that piece... Then that piece could... And it'd jeopardize... Damn. Knowing it was futile, Shikamaru made his move, and in the next three moves (which happened over the course of three minutes), he was beaten.

He sighed. "How troublesome," he muttered, thinking that Kankuro and Temari both would be insufferable now. "Good game, I guess. No one gives me a challenge anymore," he said in a lousy attempt at polite conversation.

The Kazekage shrugged. "I almost lost a couple times; you're pretty good at this," he responded.

Silence.

The two just stared at each other for a moment. Shikamaru sighed, shifting. "Try again?"

"Sure."

Gaara lost shortly after that, and Shikamaru hoped that Temari wouldn't be too insufferable.

-

**The first in a series of one-shots centered around our favorite cloud-watching, lazy Leaf nin, (I warn; most will be ShikaGaa). R&R! Don't just fave/alert!**


	2. Stranger and Stranger

**2) Stranger and Stranger**

**Characters: ShikamaruxGaara (implied), Temari, Naruto**

**Summary: Naruto wondered if things couldn't get any stranger. Then they did.**

**Warning: Spoilers (if you squint, maybe), humor, shonen-ai**

**Rating: K+**

-

Uzumaki Naruto prided himself in knowing his friends' personalities. He was the man that knew who everyone went perfectly with (like Shikamaru and Temari; his best pairing yet, though he didn't think they quite got it yet), and everyone would be happy once he was done with them. He knew who was a compatible friend with who (i.e.: Ino and Hinata), and who would be at each other's throats if you locked them in a room (like Neji and Kankuro).

All this was just something he was good at. Naruto knew people. He knew from long years (a whole 19 of them) how they reacted and to what. He'd pored over their personalities during his two-year training with Jiraya for hours on end (until Jiraya got tired of the 'aha!'s and 'I've got it!'s). He was the man with the knowledge; he knew people.

Which, as one can imagine, is why he was now peeking out at a strange phenomenon. In front of Shikamaru's favorite tea shop, Gaara and Shikamaru were playing shoji, perfectly silent and mostly still (though they occasionally would mutter something to one-another). As far as Naruto was concerned, these two should be trying to kill each other (or something similar). But instead, they got along like old friends. Like they'd been playing strategy games against each other for years.

Naruto, not one to be dumbstruck often, was in awe.

"Your turn," he heard Shikamaru say.

Gaara nodded to let the other know he'd heard, but didn't move. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, he stirred, reaching forward and making a move. Shikamaru stared down at the board as the Kazekage sat back in his seat, dressed in his normal clothes rather than the Kage robes he should be wearing.

Shikamaru then slumped. "Man..." he muttered, and a faint smirk touched Gaara's mouth, much to Naruto's astonishment. The lazy nin frowned at the Kazekage. "I'm getting slow, I think." He sighed and made his move.

And then, to further bemuse and stun Naruto, Gaara moved his own piece. "I win."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Shikamaru said, waving his hand and yawning. "Wanna go cloud watch?"

The redhead shrugged. "Sure. Temari won't start bugging me for another hour, so I have time."

Naruto watched them go, eyes wide. This was really weird. Better follow them and see what happens next.

-

When our blond spy caught up to the two, they were crossing the bridge, headed towards Shikamaru's house. He followed them to the Nara forest and inside, until they finally came to a clearing with a low hill. The duo sprawled out on the hill, watching the trees sway and the clouds move high above in the break of the tree branches above the clearing.

For a while, it was quiet. The two simply staring upwards (actually, Gaara appeared to have dozed off), laying completely still (except once, where Shikamaru flicked a piece of grass at Gaara, who ignored it. Or maybe he really was asleep) and just enjoying the peace.

A bird flew past overhead, Naruto noticed, then realized that he had stopped watching them. He quickly lowered his gaze. Shikamaru had sat up, and was leaning forward, using a kunai to carve a stick (with limited success, since that was not what a kunai was made for). Gaara was still laying down (Naruto was convinced that he must be asleep), paying no attention to his companion.

Finally, after what seemed like forever but was in all actuality closer to about two hours, Shikamaru broke the silence. "I think Naruto was watching us earlier." The blond started, but didn't move, lest he be caught.

"How do you know he stopped?" Gaara asked after a pause, not really sounding surprised by this news.

"He can't sit still for this long," Shikamaru answered. "He would have left by now, even if he had followed us here. Either that, or announced his presence with whatever the hell was going through his mind when he started watching us."

Another lengthy pause followed this announcement, but finally Gaara opened his eyes and sat up. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking pointedly at the defunked branch in Shikamaru's hands.

"Carving. Or trying to. I guess it doesn't work with kunai." Shikamaru shrugged. A third pause. Ten minutes later, he spoke again, tossing the useless branch aside and searching for another one with his eyes. "I guess you're hiding from Temari, huh?"

Gaara grunted in agreement and dropped back down into his previous position, closing his eyes. "Yeah."

Silence. Naruto was beginning to wonder if things couldn't get any stranger. Then they did, just as Shikamaru opened his mouth again.

"You ever kissed anyone? Temari says you haven't," the lazy nin said in leu of explanation.

Gaara cracked an eye open and looked at the other nin, brows furrowed in thought. "Kiss? No. Why?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I've learned not to trust half the shit that comes out of Temari's mouth."

Gaara let out a huff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh and closed his eyes again. "Yeah. It's mostly conjecture."

"Yeah."

And once more, they fell silent, Shikamaru discarding the second branch and laying on his back once again. He let his arms fall where ever and one landed on Gaara's elbow. Aside from cracking his eye open to see what was touching him, Gaara didn't comment and Shikamaru didn't move it.

Naruto stared. An hour later, he decided to leave, and quickly slipped away, silent. Ten minutes after that, Shikamaru chuckled. "Guess I was wrong."

"I thought he couldn't sit still for that long?" Gaara asked, opening one eye to smirk at his friend.

Shikamaru shrugged and scratched above his eyebrow before dropping his hand again. This time it landed just above Gaara's elbow. "I suppose he's grown up, just a little."

"Yeah."

-

**Light and fluffy, with a little humor. Naruto shows surprising capability for silence and patience. XD R&R! Don't just fave/alert!**


	3. Birthday Suit

**3) Birthday Suit**

**Characters: ShikamaruxGaara (implied)**

**Summary: Shikamaru then decided the term 'birthday suit' was irritating.**

**Warning: Spoilers (if you squint, maybe), minor nude humor, shonen-ai**

**Rating: K+**

-

It wasn't often (or ever) that Shikamaru found himself in this sort of predicament, but it was happening now. It was like that time when he was in the academy and Naruto had somehow gotten Kiba to agree to help the blond de-pants Shikamaru. Needless to say, it was one of those few memories that he didn't want to remember. Ever.

However, this time it was slightly different. Rather than just his pants, his shirt was gone as well... Perhaps we should start at the beginning...

It was a very hot day in Suna when Shikamaru woke up. Temari somehow convinced him to help her with some stupid garden and by mid-morning, he was sweaty and covered in sand. It stuck to his skin and fell in his clothes (he remembered wondering at the time why Temari would bother having a garden in the desert, but only got whacked when he asked), making him itch in places he shouldn't scratch in public.

So it was with great relief that he escaped after lunch and made his way to the public baths. After using the bucket of water to wash the majority of the sand from his person, he sunk into the warm, inviting water and relaxed, his clothes in the other room nearly forgotten.

Until, an hour later, he got out, deciding to leave, only to find everything but his underwear missing. He stood perfectly still before the cubby hole he'd put the garments in earlier, staring at the now empty space for several long moments. His brain had somehow short-circuited, and he had no idea where they could have gone. Briefly, he wondered if Naruto was in town, then remembered that he'd gone after Sasuke a week ago.

It was the soft sound of something shifting behind him that made him turn, watching as none other than the Kazekage appeared in a whirl of sand. And froze. Eyes widening slightly, he cleared his throat and turned away. "... Sorry," he muttered.

Shikamaru grabbed up his towel and wrapped it around his waist, before slipping his boxers on underneath that. "Er... Yeah, it's... fine," he replied, embarrassed to be caught by his friend in his birthday suit. Shikamaru then decided the term 'birthday suit' was irritating.

The silence was palpable as they just sort of stood there, each uncomfortable and trying to avoid thinking of the current situation, though in the end, that proved ridiculous and Gaara sighed. "So, um... What's going on here...?" he asked, shifting.

Shikamaru cleared his throat awkwardly and cast the redhead a glance. "Oh... Uh... I'm not quite sure myself..."

"Oh..."

More silence. Then, "My clothes are missing."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Gaara reached up and undid his Kazekage robe, taking it off and slinging it over his shoulder before turning to face Shikamaru with a critical gaze. "Any idea who took it?"

The Leaf nin shook his head and fiddled with the edge of the towel. "No clue." He spied his ponytail band in the back of the cubby and grabbed it, sweeping his hair up and tying the band around it. "Um... You think you could get me something... To wear?"

Gaara shook his head. "I don't know where the key to your room is, so..." He held out his robe. "Put this on and I'll take you to my place; you can borrow a pair of my pants until you get back to your room."

"You're shorter than me," Shikamaru pointed out, feeling justified in doing so but taking the robe anyway. Gaara just rolled his eyes and snagged Shikamaru's arm as soon as the white garment was wrapped around him. He pulled him into an awkward sort of embrace and made a few hand seals with one hand, the other grasping Shikamaru's elbow firmly.

Then Shikamaru's vision was clouded by sand. The sensation wasn't totally unlike a transportation jutsu, except those could only carry one person at a time, while he could plainly feel Gaara's chest against his back, his body heat partially chasing away the chill of the trip. Finally, the sand cleared and they were standing in a room that Shikamaru had never been in before.

It was mostly plain, with a couple pictures - one of Naruto and Sakura, the other with Gaara and his siblings - on a plain wooden dresser about the size of a card table. In the corner by a window - the drapes drawn - sat a low bed, not quite on the floor but almost, with tan, standard issue blankets and regular white sheets. There was one white-cased pillow on the bed, sitting propped up in the corner against the wall, and a little brown teddy bear leaning up against it.

Shikamaru wisely didn't comment on the stuffed animal, eyes surveying the rest of the room. Other than that, there was a closet with a swinging door and a small shelf on the wall containing what looked like text books. The rest of the room was bare and devoid of color or life, and it made something inside of Shikamaru flutter strangely. He almost felt sad that Gaara didn't have much of a life outside of their usual strategy games.

Gaara released him - Shikamaru had barely realized that he'd stood there for nearly five minutes, still in the redhead's grasp - and stepped over to the closet. He pulled the door open and rummaged inside, getting a pair of pants and tossing them to his friend. "Will those fit?"

Shikamaru shrugged the Kazekage robe off and held them up to his mostly-naked form. They fell short, and he was pretty sure his hips were bigger than Gaara's. He looked up at the much thinner, shorter male and shook his head. "What about Kankuro? Maybe he has something that'll fit."

Without a word, Gaara walked out the door, closing it behind him, and Shikamaru took the chance to lower himself onto the bed, sighing in annoyance. "How troublesome," he grumbled.

He reached over and picked up the picture of Gaara and his siblings, thoughtful. Kankuro, being Kankuro, was holding bunny ears up behind his brother, who was glaring out of the corner of his eyes, and Temari was holding Kankuro's other hand down, a forced smile on her face, even as her hand was reaching for her fan. Kankuro was the only one really smiling, Shikamaru noticed, but the Leaf nin's eyes strayed toward the youngest.

Despite his glare, his arms were crossed and his face showed only exasperation. He wasn't really angry.

The door swung open and Shikamaru looked up to see Gaara returning with a plain black shirt and a pair of tan pants. He tossed them onto the bed beside the genius and glanced at his hands. He smirked. "That was last year," he commented. "We decided to redo it, since the one before that, they both looked really subdued..."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah." He picked up the pants and held them to his hips. They would probably be a little big, but nothing he couldn't handle until he got his own pants. It would appear that Kankuro was more muscle than he looked. "It'll work," he decided aloud and pulled them on over his boxers. He snagged the T-shirt and pulled it on before taking his pony tail down and redoing it with help from the brush Gaara handed him. "Thanks."

Gaara shrugged. "Sure. What're friends for?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yeah..." Shikamaru walked to the door and paused, looking back at the redhead, who was staring at him in his normal, blank manner. "Really. Thanks; you're a lot of help," he said after a long pause.

Gaara blinked, but otherwise showed no outward sign of his surprise. Perhaps the blink wasn't even a sign; Shikamaru didn't know. Then, the redhead slowly inclined his head. "You're welcome," he said sincerely, and Shikamaru smiled before slipping out the door.

Gaara stood there in the middle of his room for a long time afterward, trying to figure out what the strange twisting and flipping of his insides was for. Maybe it was that smile... No one ever really smiled at him like that.

-

**Mm... They are slowly falling for each other. And I think this has become a one-shot story of some sort... R&R! Don't just fave/alert!**


	4. Problem and Solution

**Problem and Solution**

**Characters: ShikamaruxGaara (implied), Sai**

**Summary: Gaara didn't expect to be accosted by a strange pale Leaf ANBU, especially not one that wanted to give him faulty advice.**

**Warning: Humor, implied Shonen ai, Sai and his books, sexual humor**

**Rating: T**

-

Sai had been reading some very interesting books lately. These books were on the various relationships possible between two men, and the reason he'd initially picked it up was because of Naruto's obsession with Sasuke - he believed the term was withdrawal, but he could be mistaken - but it was then that he started to notice things. Like how occasionally, Naruto would seek out Shikamaru - usually when the Kazekage was in town - and watch him (or them) without revealing himself. Perhaps this was a new addiction, Sai mused.

He decided to find out, which, in the long run, landed him in this spot. In the tiny tea shop, the Nara prodigy and the Kazekage were sitting still, staring down at Gaara's new 'Chess' board. Both men had already read through the rule book on the edge of the table - twice, in Shikamaru's case - and were now scrutinizing the board. The small wooden pieces gleamed with unblemished paint from the also painted board, and neither one of them had moved for a while.

But that was okay; Sai was a patient person.

Finally, after about half an hour, Shikamaru made the first move, sliding one of the smallest pieces at the front - the one on the far left - forward one square. A few minutes later, he reached for his drink - that had somehow found it's way to Gaara's side of the table; maybe when they were clearing the space for the board - and Gaara reached for a breadstick at the same time (the plate of them was beside Shikamaru's drink, oddly enough). Their hands brushed and they paused.

Gaara raised his gaze to meet his friend's. Shikamaru shrugged and finished getting his drink. The game went on. Sai stroked his chin in the manner he'd seen in a movie Ugly forced him to watch - he didn't have a beard, but that was okay - and thought over this interesting turn. When similar things happened within the next two hours - Shikamaru shifting and brushing his foot against Gaara's leg; the waitress refilling their breadstick plate and them both reaching for it at the same time, only to knock hands; Gaara knocking his cup over off the side of the table and his sand catching it at the same time as Shikamaru's hand - Sai came to several conclusions. Two of which took precedence.

Gaara had a crush on Shikamaru and either didn't know it or was too shy to act on it. Shikamaru was also attracted to Gaara, though on a lesser level then his friend. And they both needed to get laid, preferrably together.

Oh, wait. That was three.

Sai decided to consult his books at home and left the two to their game in peace.

-

Gaara and Shikamaru had parted ways after their game when the Nara's blonde teammate showed up, saying something about someone named 'Sai' and Sakura wanting to kill this person, so Shikamaru should do something about it. With much complaining, Shikamaru had agreed and left, and Gaara wandered the streets with nothing to do until his meeting with the Hokage later that afternoon.

He was just passing a tree when a very pale man swung out of it, hanging upside down with his arms crossed and eyes on Gaara. He then proceeded to speak. "You have a problem, Kazekage-sama," he pointed out.

The redhead paused, wondering if he could get away with ignoring this individual completely. "Who are you?"

"I am Sai." Well, that explained quite a bit, actually, and Gaara suspected that this man was behind Shikamaru's predicament. "I must speak to you about your problem, Kazekage-sama."

"..." Gaara thought about it for all of two seconds before turning around and going back the way he'd come. Less than a second later, the man launched himself from the tree, knocking Gaara over, and landed - seated - on his back. Gaara was annoyed, but when the man only sat there, it became apparent that he meant him no harm and only wanted him to listen.

The redhead huffed. "Get off of me."

"With all due respect," Sai said slowly, "No."

"Get off of me, _now_."

"No."

"Yes."

"Will you stay still?"

"No."

"Then no."

Gaara scowled and contemplated the repercussions of him committing murder, then decided against it. Shikamaru wouldn't be happy, and anyway, it was pointless seeing as this wasn't really an enemy. However, he began to wonder about this conclusion when the man spoke again.

"Your problems are numerous, but we'll address the one that's most easy to fix," he said matter-of-factly, in a manner that suggested he'd researched this thoroughly. "You need to get laid."

Gaara stilled, eyes widening. He'd heard that term far too many times when attempting to talk to Kankuro not to know what it meant. "What are you talking about?"

"Or are you a virgin?" Sai went on, either oblivious to the Kazekage's embarrassment or he didn't care.

"What?! No!" Gaara protested, face heating just a little bit. "Would you get off of me and stop talking about sex at the same time!"

Sai paused at that, then with a smirk stated, "I'm straight, thanks."

Gaara growled. "I am going to kill you."

"Ugly tells me that all the time, yet she hasn't done it. Well..." Sai paused. "Successfully." He then got back to the point. "You also appear to like men, but that's okay, 'cause I know at least three in town that have shown signs of homosexuality."

It was one of those instances that Gaara really wanted the person to stop annoying him, and at the same time, the lure of odd gossip had him pausing and saying, "Really? Who?"

The pale-painted man shifted and Gaara felt like punching him. "Uzumaki Naruto - that's no surprise, really, considering his addiction to Uchiha - as well as Aburame Shino, and Nara Shikamaru, though his homosexuality has more to do with completely disliking women and taking men as an alternative than anything else."

Gaara felt as if he'd fallen into some strange alternate reality. One in which random strangers pinned you face-down to the ground and started to talk about your nonexistant sex life, and your best friend ended up being gay, even though you were pretty sure he had a thing for your sister.

A book was shoved in front of his face and he looked down at it. It was a how-to manual on yaoi sex. Gaara wanted to punch the guy again. "Get off me!" he growled, squirming. He hadn't expected to be accosted by a strange pale Leaf ANBU - for he certainly was, if Gaara remembered correctly from Naruto's stories - especially not one that wanted to give him faulty advice.

"No," Sai answered and continued. "Anyway, to solve your problem, I think you should speak with Nara-san directly. I'm sure he'd be just fine with having sex with you-"

"You're insane. And a walking dead man," Gaara inserted, but went ignored.

"Seeing as he's almost as attracted to you as you are to him. It's rather obvious to anyone with eyes; even _Naruto's_ noticed something is going on." He paused thoughtfully and Gaara took the opportunity to interject.

"What? Naruto? Really?" he asked, stunned.

Sai nodded knowingly. "Yes. He's far more perceptive than anyone gives him credit for, not that he needs to be told this. It would just make him over-confident, and anyway, I'm sure Hinata-san likes him as an idiot."

Gaara hadn't known that... "You really pay attention, don't you...?" And then, on second thought. "Oh, nevermind. Get off!"

"No."

This went on for a while, and by the time Gaara had to leave for his meeting, he'd already given up and resolved himself to deal with it. Luckily, when he was a few minutes late, Tsunade had no doubt sent who ever was in the room to look for him, and Shikamaru found them, Sai still on Gaara's back, Gaara trying unsuccessfully to play tic-tac-toe by himself in the ground, and the pale ANBU rattling off about homosexuality, oblivious to the fact that Gaara had stopped listening two hours ago.

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome," he muttered, gaining both of their attention.

Sai waved and smiled his best fake smile. "Oh, Nara-san! Kazekage-sama needs to get-"

It was at this point that Gaara abruptly rolled to the side, knocking Sai over and cutting off whatever he'd been about to say, and Shikamaru was pretty sure it was deliberate. Unperturbed, Sai got to his feet quickly, eyeing Gaara's sand - which was now hovering between them - and still talking.

"He needs to-" He dodged a swipe of the sand. "-get-" He yelped as the sand pulled him up off his feet, hanging him upside down by his ankle.

"Do not. Finish. That. Sentence," Gaara growled menacingly and Sai... sighed.

"Fine," he agreed and went on. "Nara-san, _you_ need to get laid- elp!" He landed on his head on the ground, letting out an undignified, feminine yelp as he fell.

Gaara didn't care. "Let's go," he muttered, walking away. Shikamaru soon fell into step beside him, his hand brushing the Kazekage's, and Sai sat up, nodding.

He jotted down notes of the day's work thoughtfully, thinking Jiraya-san would love to look at this. Though, considering how close they were walking, Sai was pretty sure they'd fuck each other senseless in no time.

-

**And here's the next one. I love Sai. Really; he's amazing. Haha. R&R! Don't just fave/alert! XD**


	5. Chocolate Party

**Made a few minor edits. Just to make it a little funnier.**

**Chocolate Party**

**Characters: ShikamaruxGaara (implied), Temari, Kankuro**

**Summary: 'Chocolate party', was what she called it. This... wasn't as simple as it sounded.**

**Warning: A kiss (sorta), shonen ai, Temari being a match-maker... screwed up jutsus...**

**Rating: K+**

-

Shikamaru had just left the Kazekage's office after a long, satisfying and exhausting game of shoji when Temari came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the shoulder. "There you are!" she proclaimed in irritation. "I've been looking all over for you, Shikamaru!"

He frowned slightly - troublesome woman - and tried to shrug her off, to no avail. She clung tight. Like a leech, really.

Or a piranah.

"What do you want now?" he asked, brow twitching slightly.

She gave him the creepiest grin he'd ever seen cross her face - it eerily reminded him of her brother before he mellowed out - and dropped her voice almost seductively. "Oh, Shikamaru... I have to talk to you about something..." She batted her eyelashes.

It was at this point that, like many men before him, he felt the fight or flight instinct well up inside his chest. He really started to think of fleeing, especially when, with the sweetest smile in her arsenal, she wrapped one arm around his shoulders in a comradely fashion. The claws- _ahem_, nails of her other hand dug into the tender flesh under his elbow and she started to drag him down the street.

"You know... You and my brother..." She giggled.

Shikamaru wanted to run like a bitch. "Er..." He paused, trying to pull away, but she gripped him tighter. He was forced to stop attempting escape for fear of losing a limb. Or two. "What about us?"

"You can't play games together anymore-"

"What? Why not?" he demanded a little too quickly.

She continued as if he hadn't said anything. "-unless you help me out with a little something first. I need to get it done fast, you see."

Suspicious, Shikamaru allowed her to pull him into a large storage building. "Like what?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

Temari brightened, smile turning sweeter, if that was possible. "Chocolate!"

"... what?"

-

For the next three hours, Shikamaru was forced to be her personal slave as she set up the huge storage building - containing only two rooms, one of which was a storage closet (he didn't see the point in this, as it was a storage _building_, but it was there nonetheless) - for a 'Chocolate Party', as she called it. It was supposed to be some sort of surprise for her brother - the Kazekage, not the Hentai - and she was taking it seriously.

"Shika, would you move that table to the other side of the room, please?" Temari asked from her seat beside the drink machine.

Or not so seriously, Shikamaru internally groused as he carefully shoved the table all the way across the room - an whole twenty feet, all by himself - to sit beside the others. Temari stood from her folding chair and stepped into the center of the room, eyeing the long rows of tables against the walls. Then she shook her head. "No, nevermind, Shika. Put it back."

He glared at her, and when she scowled, relented and began pushing it right back into place.

However, halfway there, she gasped. "No, no!" she said, her voice indicating she had a sudden idea. "Shika! I have it! Put it over there!" she pointed to the corner - now a whole fifteen feet away, while if he'd pushed it from where he'd been standing after pushing it to the other side of the room, it would have only been ten - importantly and nodded, grinning. "It's perfect! I can use it to catch the excess stuff."

"What excess stuff?" he demanded, tired of all the secrecy. She glared and he sighed, muttered a half-hearted "what a drag... literally" and started toward the corner with the table. This went on for a while, with the same table. She'd decide she didn't like where it was halfway to it's new spot - or just as he was giving it one more push - and tell him to put it elsewhere, he'd start there, and then have to move it again. Eventually, though, it ended up back where it'd started.

Grinning, she nodded. "Perfect."

Shikamaru collapsed onto the floor.

-

When Kankuro said they'd planned a 'surprise' for Gaara, he hadn't mentioned that this 'surprise' would include several other dozen people, all squished and pressed together in the middle of the room - and the edges and the corners - dancing to music and just generally giving the Kazekage a headache.

So, naturally, when he overheard one girl talking about the 'hot chocolate' being 'spiked', he'd jumped at the chance. So here he was, leaning against the wall beside the spiked cocoa and glaring at anyone who tried to get some of it, and humming along with the song.

He paused. Looked down at his drink. Forgot why he'd paused in the first place. He took another sip and resumed his humming. And so he continued until a disgruntled Shikamaru stumbled - literally - out of the crowd. Gaara's face lit up and he held up his cup for his friend. "Want some?" he asked, smiling. "It's got alco.... aloe... Funny stuff."

Shikamaru gave him a look. "You're drunk."

"Yep." Silence. Gaara felt like interrupting the silence for once, and when looking at Shikamaru, he came up with just the thing to do it. "Do you think I'm a turn off?" Okay, so maybe that didn't quite connect. Shikamaru and him being a turn off, but it came to mind, so shut up.

Slowly, Shikamaru looked at him, surveying him. He frowned. "No. You're not," he said. He then took the cup from Gaara and downed it all at once.

"Hey!" Gaara protested, forgetting that he'd offered his friend some.

"Shut up," Shikamaru replied simply.

Oddly enough, Gaara obliged. He watched Shikamaru pour himself some more and down that too, coughing when he was done (probably because there was a reason it was called _hot_ cocoa) before refilling it and handing the cup back to Gaara. The redhead smiled at Shikamaru, who then took the cup back and downed it again.

"Don't smile at me. Not like that," Shikamaru ordered, eyes watering.

"Yes, sir," Gaara replied, forcing himself to frown in a fake manner. Shikamaru took the cup back.

After a while (Gaara had just wobbled to the stack of cups and got his own), they ran out of cocoa and went looking for something else with alcohol in it. It was at this time that Gaara quite literally ran into his brother. Surprised, Kankuro - who was talking to some girl that looked suspiciously like Sakura with orange hair - turned and blinked down at his little brother.

"Gaara? What's up?"

"We need alcohol," they chorused, and Gaara bit back a snicker. He wobbled; Shikamaru held him up, slightly more steady on his feet. "Oh, and more hot cocoa," the redhead added after a beat.

Kankuro looked like he couldn't decide whether he should be very scared or very amused. Or both. "Um... Huh?" He squinted through the flashing lights. "Gaara...? Are you drunk?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes. We are both drunk. Would people stop asking that?"

Gaara gave his friend an odd look. "You asked _me_ first," he said in a moment of lucidity. "Yanno... Earlier."

"Oh." A pause. "Yeah. Forgot..."

Gaara tipped his head back and looked up. "Wow... Pur-gree-oran-pink-pur... I can't keep up."

"What?" Kankuro and Shikamaru asked in unison, brows furrowing as they, too, looked up to see what he was talking about.

Gaara went on to explain when the lights didn't seem to catch their interest. "The lights. It goes purple, green, orange, pink... Like a lullaby."

"How does does that even make sense?" Kankuro asked, the comment more directed at Shikamaru than his brother.

The Leaf nin shrugged. "Dunno. But it does to him, so..."

Before their odd conversation - or their hunt for alcohol - could go on (Kankuro's date had wandered off), Temari bounced up excitedly, grinning ear-to-ear. "Look, Kanky!" she cried, pointing at her brother and Shikamaru (who were practically leaning on each other). "It worked! I told you it'd work."

"Don't call me that," Kankuro growled in annoyance.

Gaara blinked a few times and leaned back a bit to see his sister better, but then leaned forward and squinted. "Huh?"

"What worked?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari smirked. "You guys totally fell for it," she proceeded to explain.

"Fell for what?" they asked in tandem.

"You should take Gaara home, Shika," Temari said, sidestepping the question.

Gaara, immediately distracted, nodded and opened his mouth, but Shikamaru wasn't quite as drunk. "Woman... If you did something I'm going to regret-"

"Oh, shush and take him home," she interrupted. "Gaara's a pathetic drunk, and he scares everyone when he's smiling like that." She directed a raised brow at Gaara's half manic, half goofy grin.

"Point," Shikamaru agreed and blinked a few times himself. "Okay. I'll get us back before... I fall over. Wow..." He shook his head to clear it and slowly walked Gaara away from them (Gaara was grinning at _every_one) and to the door. Once he'd gotten them outside and started down the road, he allowed himself to breathe in the night air.

It must have been sometime after elevan by now, he mused and looked down at his friend. "Oi, Gaara?"

Looking a little more sober now that they were outside in the cool of a desert night, Gaara looked up at him. "Huh?" he grunted before focusing on making his feet work.

"..." Shikamaru wondered just how much alcohol had been in that cocoa, but shook his head. "Just making sure you're not gonna... faint or something."

"The indignity," the redhead drawled sarcastically, eyes still glued to his feet. "I would never-"

"Yeah, yeah." He wondered momentarily if he should attempt a transportation jutsu at this point, but shrugged. His mind seemed clear enough... He shifted his grip on the Kazekage, then made the necessary hand seals - with some difficulty - and poof! They were gone.

They landed in a heap on a bed, and when Shikamaru looked up, he saw that it was his. What the hell? "I thought I went to Gaara's room."

Gaara pulled himself up into a sitting position and shook his head. "That, sir, is why you don't try to transport while drunk. Sir."

"Don't call me sir."

"Yes, ma'am."

Shikamaru glared at him, and Gaara just smiled back. With that smile, Shikamaru remembered why he'd gotten drunk in the first place. _"C'mon, Shika. Just look at him, sitting there all alone," Temari said, pouting at him. "He needs you to cheer him up." And with that, she shoved him through a break in the crowd and in front of the scowling Kazekage, who then proceeded to grin at him like an idiot. Oh, boy..._

"Shika..." Gaara paused, mid-word, and his brow furrowed as he looked at his friend. Slowly, he lifted one hand and rubbed it down Shikamaru's cheek, then pulled the now chocolate-covered finger away. "Where'd this come from?" he wondered aloud before sticking his finger in his mouth.

Shikamaru's mouth fell open. Gaara paused, looking at his friend again, and smiled slightly, making Shikamaru decide he really liked the redhead's smile. It brought one to his own mouth, just a tiny quirk of his lips, as he watched Gaara look around the room curiously. Maybe, like he'd thought before...

Suddenly, as if remembering what he'd been about to say earlier before being distracted by the chocolate on Shikamaru's face, Gaara's head whipped back around and he grimaced. "... ow..."

The Leaf nin snickered. "I think you just gave yourself whip-lash," he stated.

Gaara scowled slightly. "Shut up. Stop distracting me."

"Sorry."

"Yeah." Gaara's face screwed up in thought - really, what _had_ they drunk? - before brightening. "Oh! Yeah." He tipped his head to the side curiously. "How come I've never seen your room, but you've seen mine?"

Surprised by the question, Shikamaru tried to think of an answer but finally just shrugged. "Dunno. It just never came up, I guess."

"Oh." He spaused again, this time attempting to get his legs out from underneath him and stretched out on the bed. "Your bed's bigger than mine."

"You're the Kazekage," his friend retorted. "It doesn't need to be."

Gaara thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "You're right, but I don't share it, so I don't want it to take up too much space." He laid back on the matress. "I'm not transporting to my room, you know," he stated stubbornly.

Shikamaru watched him, eyes hooded a bit. "Okay. You can stay, if you really want."

Gaara's pale green eyes rose to meet his own and he smirked. "You really _can't_ tell me no, huh?"

Okay, so that one was a little confusing. Shikamaru sprawled out beside his friend and looked at him. "What? What are you talking about?" he asked, wondering if someone had said that to Gaara, or if Gaara had come up with it on his own.

"'Mari," Gaara mumbled, already half asleep. Well, that confirmed the former, Shikamaru mused as Gaara went on. "Said you couldn't say no to me... somethin' 'bout Sai... and 'Kuro... 'n how I like you." His brows furrowed and he rolled his head to the side, looking back at the Leaf nin. "Do you like me?"

Eyes widening, Shikamaru froze at the abrupt question, not sure how to answer. However, Gaara's eyes were sliding closed, so he had to... before he was asleep... "Gaara?"

"Mm?" The redhead visibly forced an eye open. "Hm?"

"I do," he said, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Gaara's forehead. "I like you, too."

Gaara's eyes were closed when he pulled away, but there was a smile on his face that was unlike any other Shikamaru had seen. Gaara was really happy to hear that; it was probably the first time someone had _said_ it. At least right to his face.

Shikamaru covered his face with his hands and drew in a ragged breath. What the hell was he thinking? Gaara was a guy. He was his friend, and if things didn't work out-

"That's good." The words were whispered so softly that if he hadn't been so quiet, Shikamaru wouldn't have heard them, but they steeled his resolve. Even if things didn't work out, it would hurt him more if he didn't try. It would hurt Gaara more.

-

**Made some minor edits. R&R! Hope you like.**


	6. Welcome to Wind, Enjoy Your Stay pt 1

**Welcome to Wind Country, Enjoy Your Stay**

**Part 1: Brush with Death**

**Characters: GaaraxShikamaru, Ino**

**Summary: Seconds from death, Shikamaru has a revelation. If only it'd come sooner.**

**Warning: Vague spoilers, blood, spirituality (in a sense)**

**Rating: T**

-

Shikamaru hadn't counted on a third rogue showing up, least of all showing up behind him. When he heard Ino's terrified cry of his name, he spun, pulling up his kunai, but he was too late. The plans bled away as a katana slid between his ribs - _shit, there goes a lung_ - and he couldn't seem to remember what he'd been doing as he stared into cherry-colored eyes. It struck him as odd that those eyes reflected fear and relief all at once. Not malice, nor anger, just plain, pure terror. As if Shikamaru and his team were the bad guys rather than the other way around.

His legs gave out from underneath him and the guy turned away, parrying Ino's enraged punch with his wrist. Choji was already crying as he knocked his own opponent out. Shikamaru wondered why they were so sad all of a sudden. It wasn't like he was.... The kage user looked down at his chest, belatedly realizing that the katana had been removed. It wasn't like he was... dying. Oh.

He opened his mouth, wanted to tell them that he was fine. He'd killed Hidan, the great Jashinist; how could he possibly die from such a... normal wound? However, all that came out was a choked gasp as his one healthy lung remembered how to work. He tasted metal in his mouth and grimaced; that'd leave a nasty taste in the morning.

In the morning...

Shikamaru looked up, watching Ino battling his attacker, and Choji fighting the other rogue, and wondered if he'd wake up. No, there was no way he'd get through this. Lady Luck wouldn't grace him twice. He wouldn't go home, wouldn't see Temari, or Naruto, or... Or Gaara. Gods, he'd never see Gaara again, would he? Oh, Gods...

"Gaa..." The word - gasp really - was cut off as he coughed up the warm liquid that filled his wounded lung. Oh, Gods... "Gaara... Gaara..." He'd never Gaara again. He'd die and... _How will Gaara take the news? Poor Gaara. He was just starting to trust me, really trust me, and here I'm ripped away from him. Poor Gaara._ "Gaara..."

Ino finally felled her opponent and dashed to his side, blue eyes widening with terror and desperation. "Shikamaru!" she screamed as she dropped to her knees. "Hold on, Shika! You're gonna be okay!" she said, hands glowing with healing chakra.

He felt an ironic humor well up inside him and bubble forth, laughter spilling from his lips. "Gaara..."

"You'll see him soon," she promised, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Gods, Shika... Choji! Go back to Suna! Get the Kazekage!" she screamed at their friend and he fled back the way they'd come.

He swayed. "Ino...?"

She hiccuped. "Yeah?"

"Sorry." Black started to spill into his vision and he shook his head, trying to stay conscious. "Really..." He coughed. "Tell 'im... Gaara. Sorry." He watched the ground rush up to meet him. _Sorry._

-

Gaara was waiting outside the ER when the head medic stepped out, exhausted but smiling in relief. She caught sight of him and stepped over, bowing. "He's going to be fine," she assured.

Gaara stood perfectly still for a moment, eyes on her as she straightened. She smiled a little more and went on. "He nearly lost his lung. If they'd been a few minutes later than they were, I would have had to replace it or remove it completely. As it is, it'll be scarred and his breathing will be a little labored. I suggest you and Temari-sama get him to stop smoking; it'll only make it worse on him." She pulled the folder that she'd had trapped under her arm out and flipped it open. "Other than that, and a gash on his hip that nearly severed a tendon, the majority of his injuries are superficial. He'll be just fine after a rest, if not as good as before."

She handed him a sheet of paper and tucked the folder away again. "That's a prescription for some painkillers. He'll need them, with the damage done to his lung. He'll be in pain for a while yet, but it'll get better in time." She offered the Kazekage a sympathetic smile. "He's strong. Stop worrying." She patted his arm and turned away, heading back inside the ER and leaving the redhead alone with the realization that he was way too tense.

Damn. Gaara's attention was snagged before his thoughts could progress further down that road by an angry shriek and a yelp of pain. He turned and watched as Yamanaka Ino beat on an ANBU attempting to keep her from seeing her friend, and at the pathetic look the ANBU shot him, Gaara sighed and motioned for them to let her through. They did, and she was stomping down the hall, fury and worry a mask on her face.

"How is he?" she demanded as soon as she came within reasonable hearing distance. She then seemed to remember exactly who he was and backpedaled. "Er, how is he doing, Kazekage-sama?" she asked more respectfully, the worry winning out in her expression.

"... He's fine," he murmured, and held out the prescription. "Do me a favor."

Blinking, the blonde looked down at the slip of paper, taking it hesitantly. Once she realized what it was, she nodded eagerly. "Of course! I'll be back soon!" With that, she turned, but paused and looked back at Gaara, biting her lip. "And... Kazekage-sama?"

"What?" he asked, gaze focused on the doors separating him and his friend.

"He told me to tell you he's sorry." With that, she vanished down the hall, leaving the wide-eyed Kazekage staring after her.

Slowly, though, his gaze returned to the door and he stepped forward, slipping inside and weaving between the medics as they cleaned up. Shikamaru was still out cold on the operation bed, about to be transferred to the waiting room. A mednin impatiently urged his Kazekage aside and helped a second lift and move the Leaf nin onto another, wheeled bed. They both gave him hurried bows before the one who'd moved Gaara out of the way started pushing Shikamaru from the room. Gaara was quick to walk beside him, worriedly watching the face of his friend.

"Will he need anything?" he asked the medic.

The man sighed and shrugged. "Sleep, mostly. Don't disturb him, please."

"Of course not," Gaara replied distractedly, reaching forward to touch Shikamaru only to yelp in surprise when the mednin smacked his hand and scowled at him. He cleared his throat and tried to look offended, but he was rather intimidated by that glare. Not that he'd admit it.

Mednins were scary people.

The rest of the trip to the recouperation room was made in silence, Gaara trying only once more to touch his friend before he gave up in exasperation, hand slightly red. They stepped into the new room and eventually, the man left after a stern warning not to touch Shikamaru (which Gaara ignored the second he was gone), and he was alone. He brushed the Leaf nin's bangs from his face and sighed in relief, glad he wasn't dead. But he'd come so close...

The steady drone of the machines were Gaara's only company as he took up Shikamaru's hand and sank into less than healthy melancholy thoughts.

-

**Never fear. That is actually not the end of this specific shot. The story is continued in the next one-shot, but you'll have to wait a bit for it. R&R!**


	7. Welcome to Wind, Enjoy Your Stay pt 2

**Welcome to Wind Country, Enjoy Your Stay**

**Part 1: Waking to the World of the Living**

**Characters: GaaraxShikamaru**

**Summary: He didn't know. Anything.**

**Warning: Fluff, angst, shonen ai**

**Rating: K+**

-

_I feel... really weird. Maybe... I'm dead. I think I might be dead. Oh, damn... How troublesome. And Gaara's probably sad, too... Why are my legs and left hand warm, but the rest of me... not? I think... Actually, it's just my thighs. As if something's laying on them... Like..._ Shikamaru opened one eye and mentally nodded. _Like some__**one**__ is laying on them. Hello Gaara. How are you. I can see you didn't sleep well, but apparently... I'm a very good pillow._

He looked at the drip beside the bed and actually nodded this time._ Morphine... is fucking awesome. I think I might be high._ Shikamaru snorted in amusement, loud enough to rouse Gaara, who sat up and stared at him quietly for several long moments. Finally, he sighed and decided to break the silence, opening his mouth to speak, only to find that he couldn't do more than croak and cough.

Looking mildly alarmed, Gaara poured him a glass of water and helped him sit up to drink it. He then cleared his throat and tried again. "What's the verdict?" he rasped, his voice sounding rough with disuse and possible sand damage.

"You'll live," Gaara replied, picking up a pill bottle. "Pain killers for when they release you from the hospital," he added in leu of an explanation. "They had to rebuild your lung with chakra, and seal your hip wound the old fashion way." He paused; thought a moment. "The doctor also said to force you to stop smoking; it might literally kill you with the damage done to your lung."

"Right. Rebuilt lung, patched up hip, stop smoking," Shikamaru listed. "Got it." Of course, he wouldn't stop smoking, but he wasn't going to tell Gaara that. No need to make him worry. "Anything else, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara scowled at him, but the effect was pretty much ruined by the worried look in his eye. Didn't mean he couldn't try. "You _will_ stop smoking," he said, taking on an 'or else' tone. Freaky.

Shikamaru waved a hand dismissively. "Yare, yare. Stop smoking. Said I'd got it, ne?"

"You're lying and it's obvious, Shikamaru," Gaara said, another scowl making the first look like a pout.

"I said-"

"If you don't, and you end up dead, I swear I'll..." Gaara abruptly cut himself of, lips a thin line on his face and eyes narrowed angrily. "Stop smoking," he said after several tense moments of breathing through his nose to calm down.

Shikamaru sighed, but really didn't feel like lying to Gaara. So instead, he closed his eyes and sighed, the two lapsing into an uncomfortable silence. After a little while, Gaara must have assumed he'd dozed off, because his hand lightly touched the Leaf nin's face, presumably brushing away a few strands of hair. A sigh followed as the redhead retracted his hand and went still.

Finally, Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at his friend, who was staring down at his open hands, as if inspecting them for dirt. "What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.

Gaara didn't even look up at him; merely shrugged and slowly curled his fingers inward, creating fists, before uncurling them and curling them again. "When you were being attacked," he said, voice taking on a note that Shikamaru wasn't quite sure he was ready to identify, "I was sitting behind my desk, wondering how far away you were." He paused, falling into a morose sort of quiet that made his friend itch to shift uneasily, but he refrained for fear of agitating his injuries. "I thought to myself," he added after about five minutes of little to no noise, "'If I were to leave now, could I catch up to him and ask him to stay a little longer?'"

Shikamaru's eyes widened at the admission, and he stared, but Gaara didn't stop, though he didn't meet his friend's eyes either. "I wondered, while sitting comfortably in my chair, 'What would he do...'" He hesitated, resisting the urge to glance up to see the Nara genius' expression, knowing he wouldn't be able to continue if he did. "'What would he do, if I caught up to him, and reached out...'" Gaara's hands curled into fists one final time, knuckles turning white with the pressure, and forced himself to meet Shikamaru's gaze. "And reach out, stop him, and to ask him to stay. Forever."

The gaze quickly dropped again, and his fists relaxed, leaving deep purpling impressions where his nails had dug into the flesh of his palms. "Sorry," he added, voice a whisper.

Shikamaru, honestly, didn't know what to say. What was he supposed to say to something like that? 'It's okay, Gaara, I know how you feel, let's be lovers'? No way. You didn't just say that; no one would take you seriously anyway, and Gaara didn't need for him to joke around. Shikamaru could only shrug helplessly and fumble with the corner of the sheet draped over him.

"I don't know," he answered after some thought. It was the truth. He didn't know. Anything. He didn't know what to say to his friend, the only person he'd ever really felt anything more than a physical attachment past platonic love for. He didn't know how to answer the thinly veiled query, or even if he should. He just _didn't __**know**_. And it was kind of unfair.

Gaara slumped a bit. "Oh," he murmured.

The rest of the night was spent in silence, before Gaara eventually went home to do God-knows-what, and Shikamaru stayed up all night, cursing himself for never telling Gaara that there was so much more to it than 'I don't know'.

-

**Originally, I wanted this to be a funny, fluffy one-shot, but I decided against it and went for romantic, angsty guy-love. Hope you like, R&R. Don't just fave/alert!**


	8. Consequences

**Consequences**

**Characters: GaaraxShikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, TentenxNeji, Gai, Lee**

**Summary: Choices aren't made, and this indecision effects all parties involved.**

**Warning: Fluff, the Green Beasts of Konoha, minor angst, vague spoilers**

**Rating: K+**

-

Gaara stared out the window, lost in thought. Shikamaru had been here less than a fortnight ago, but he hadn't answered Gaara. He hadn't said no, but he certainly hadn't said yes either. As evidenced by his absence. Nobody else knew, but Gaara had to admit, if only to himself, that it was starting to effect his work. He'd often space out during meetings, wondering over Shikamaru's nonanswer - he _knew_ the other man liked him, and more than just a friend. Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking? He couldn't decide - only to be caught daydreaming and quickly redirected.

He knew he was worrying everyone. They'd watch him leave the room after meetings in silence, before starting to speak again as soon as he was out of sight. He couldn't help that he worried them. He didn't want to, but...

_Shikamaru..._

Gaara must have been spacing out again, for he didn't notice that he wasn't alone until Kankuro spoke up. "Yo, little bro," he said gently, stepping into sight to Gaara's left.

The redhead turned his head and saw that both of his siblings were peering at him worriedly, Temari clasping her hands together. He sighed. "Yes? Do you need something?"

Kankuro reached up and scratched his cheek, effecting a sheepish expression. "Well... Yeah. Gaara, what's going on?"

"Did something happen between you and Shikamaru?" Temari added, then bit her lip at her forwardness when Kankuro shot her a sharp look.

To be honest, Gaara was a little surprised that it was that obvious. Surely they didn't know...? Ah. What Temari had said back at that party. Right. It sort of made sense now, in hindsight. He sighed again and looked out the window. "I'm fine."

"You sigh an awful lot for someone who's 'fine'," Kankuro pointed out. He frowned. "Look, Gaara. I'm not going to pry and demand to know what's going on," here, he shot Temari a look that clearly said she wasn't going to either, "But I really wish you'd talk to us on your own. We're family, right? We've been through thick and thin, and if there's anything we can do to help-"

"Like take over your duties while you hop over to Konoha," Temari inserted, ignoring the scowl Kankuro shot her.

"-then let us know," the puppeteer finished, crossing his arms.

Gaara's eyes became unfocused, mulling over Temari's suggestion. Maybe he should just go and talk to the Leaf nin. Apologize for putting him in such a tight spot, but let him know the offer was still open if he changed his mind. When Kankuro cleared his throat impatiently, the Kazekage stood, surprising the both of them.

"I'm leaving in the morning," he said, and walked out of the room to get ready, completely missing Temari's grin.

"I told you so," she said as soon as he was gone.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, but he was smirking too. "Yeah, yeah. Shut up." He frowned suddenly. "Fuck. I owe Ai five hundred yen. Ow." He scowled at the incensed Temari. "The hell?"

"You bet on our little brother's love life?" she demanded irritably.

"She started it!" he whined.

"Oh, fucking shut up, Kankuro. I don't wanna hear it."

-

Shikamaru had taken to wandering through the streets of Konoha when he didn't have anything to do, too restless to really enjoy cloud watching anymore. He knew people had noticed. Hell, Ino had outright demanded who he was mooning over, only for Sakura to yell at her to mind her own business (and subsequently saving Shikamaru the trouble).

As expected, Choji hadn't even bothered to ask, knowing his best friend would talk to him about it if he thought the Akamichi needed to know. And he really didn't need to know.

Shikamaru slowly stopped, eyes staring unseeing around him. Man, this was just ridiculous. To think he'd be all torn up like this over one little offer that he should take or turn down with no problem. But he couldn't be that callous about it either, he realized.

No, Gaara was worth much more than that.

And it wasn't even that he'd been in love - yes, in love, but he'd realized that a long time ago, though he'd been unwilling to admit it to himself for the longest - with the redhead from the first time they'd met. If anything, Gaara had terrified him so badly when they were younger that he'd actually avoided any and all contact with the redhead if he could help it. Even after the Sand and Leaf had reestablished their mutual treaty, things hadn't gotten much better.

But that wasn't the here or now, he supposed. Now, he couldn't imagine living without knowing the driven Kazekage. Yeah, he was a bit of a buzz-kill, and he didn't really have a sense of humor, but maybe that was part of what made them fit together so well.

Gaara's presence was soothing and quiet, a balm to any negative emotions Shikamaru had when they met up. He'd always walk away from their encounters feeling much better. But then that was never the problem.

No, the problem was simpler and more difficult on various different levels. Gaara was, first and foremost, the Kazekage. Suna would always come first, and Shikamaru wasn't sure how he felt about that. Felt about knowing that he came second above anything else but everything in the redhead's life. And maybe he wouldn't even have a problem with it if it weren't for Ino and her big mouth.

_"Isn't the Kazekage dreamy?" she asked, her current crush just happening to be one of Shikamaru's best friends. She thoughtfully added then, "But even so... There could never be anything permanent with him," she mused._

_"Whaddya mean?" Choji asked, munching on chips._

_She gave him a look that said he should already know the answer to this question. "He's the __**Kazekage**__!" she reiterated. "Duh! He's got much more important things to worry about than relationships, dummy."_

_"Oh."_

_"Geez..."_

Shikamaru had deemed the conversation troublesome at the time and subsequently dismissed it entirely, but now the words echoed in the back of his head, taunting him mercilessly. Gaara had much more important things to worry about that him. Than them.

Of course, the fact that this worried him so much should have been a sign, but like most (or all) men, Shikamaru wasn't exactly romantic and as such needed it bashed into his head.

Or beaned, as the case may be.

"Ow!" Shikamaru reached up and rubbed his forehead where the tiny rock had knocked into his skull and looked around.

A few feet away, Tenten and Neji appeared from behind a dense clump of trees, the former looking sheepish. "Oh my god, are you okay?" Tenten asked worriedly, stepping forward and hesitating as she stared at the reddening mark on his forehead.

He sighed, frowning slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied.

Neji quirked a disbelieving brow. "I doubt that," he muttered just loud enough to be heard, only to huff in irritation when Tenten sent a scowl at him that could have made hungry bears freeze in their tracks. Maybe. If the bears were intoxicated and she wasn't too busy trying to kill them.

Shikamaru gave him a curious look at that, his own brows lifting. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Sighing in exasperation, Tenten shot Neji a look - which he ignored as he looked away - and smiled placatingly at Shikamaru. "It's nothing, really," she insisted, but at the other nin's unconvinced expression, she relented. "We weren't going to talk to you about it. You didn't seem like you wanted to be asked, really, and-"

"She's talking about your recent preoccupation, if you haven't figured it out," Neji interrupted when Tenten didn't seem to be going anywhere productive with her rant. Again, he ignored the resulting scowl and charged on, in true Hyuuga fashion. "Everyone knows one of you is being an ass, but no one has the guts to ask you who it is, though I believe Yamanaka tried at one point."

Shikamaru was a little surprised that Neji even gave a damn, but he supposed that the Hyuuga was his friend too, if only just barely. He shook his head and sighed. "No, I'm fine..." He paused, realizing the exact wording that Neji had used, and decided to enlighten him. "And it's me."

"Oh." They didn't seem to know what to say about that, so Tenten urged the conversation on. "Did you talk it out with him? Or just walk out and leave him hanging."

Shikamaru was a little ashamed to admit to the former, but as soon as he did, the two exchanged looks and nodded. "Lee," they chorused and before he knew it, the Nara prodigy was being dragged along after them, into the training ground they'd come out of.

"Wait, what?" the lazy nin asked, confused. "Why Lee?"

"Oh, he's gay too."

"He must be."

"Have you seen his outfit?"

"And he practically hangs off of Uzumaki every time they meet."

"It's kinda gross."

"And more than a little irritating."

"But we think he can help solve your problems."

"Maybe."

"How?" Shikamaru asked, a little lost in the face of that eery commentary. He then realized, a bit to his surprise, that these two _had_ to be dating. There was just no other way that they'd know each other as well as they did, enough so that they could literally finish each other's sentences.

Tenten snorted at the question and neither answered, instead shoving him in front of a very surprised green-clad duo. Gai instantly brightened at his presence, as did Lee.

"Shikamaru-san!" the former cried, effecting that irritating nice guy pose of theirs, which Lee mimicked.

"What can we help you with today, Shikamaru-kun?" Lee asked, smiling brightly - literally, if the glint off of his impossibly white teeth had anything to do with it - at the genius.

"Uh-"

"He needs matchmaking help," Tenten interrupted before Shikamaru could ruin her plans. "His relationship with Gaara is at a stand still, because he's an asshole."

Shikamaru gaped at her blunt assessment. "What-?"

Neji nodded. "Yes. It's rather unremarkable."

The lazy nin wondered why Neji was even bothering, if that were the case, and then realized that like all Konoha nin, he was as nosy as the rest of them. Dammit. This was all Naruto's fault somehow, Shikamaru was sure of it.

"What did he do?" Gai asked, surveying the Nara with uncomfortable scrutiny.

Tenten rolled her eyes and shoved Shikamaru's shoulder lightly. "He left him hanging," she said.

"How so?" Lee queried.

When all of their gazes landed on him, demanding an explanation, Shikamaru decided he was going to get revenge on his orange-clad friend later. "He... asked me to stay. I didn't know what to tell him..."

Lee gasped, eyes wide. He spun to face his teacher, teary-eyed. They both sniffled and started carrying on about how youthful that was, basically turning out to be no help at all for the next ten minutes. Finally, though, with prodding from their teammates, they calmed down and Lee actually embraced his fellow nin, much to Shikamaru's irritation.

"You should have said yes," he murmured in his ear, and he was left gaping as Lee pulled away with a kind smile. Abruptly, he turned toward his sensei. "Let us celebrate such a youthful invitation!" he exclaimed and started dragging Tenten and Gai along with him.

Neji made to follow - a little grudgingly - but paused and glanced back at him. "I heard that the Kazekage's in town," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should see if it's true." That said, he turned away and jogged to catch up with his idiotic teammates, two of which were now singing some song about youth.

-

**Ah... The stupidity of youth... *grins* I love Team Gai. Seriously, I do. Their dynamic is just amazing. For those of you that are wondering, yes, Troublesome is drawing to a close. The next shot will end this two shot, but I don't know how long it'll be 'till you get it. After that, I'll have one more one-shot, hopefully, and it'll be done. Or maybe I'll end it all in the last half of this two-shot. I dunno. I'm glad I was able to write this though. It's a little refreshing.**

**So, review, or I'll show you Lee in the shower with Gai. XD Not really. You guys know I love ya. Also, if you're into ItaSaku, check out my fic 'I Spy'! Hope you liked! R&R! Don't just fave/alert!**

**-tsv**


	9. It was Just

**It was just...**

**Characters: GaaraxShikamaru**

**Summary: "I accept." "Really?" "Yeah. Really."**

**Warning: Lime, yaoi, shonen-ai, fluff**

**Rating: T**

Shikamaru inhaled, closing his eyes as the smoke permeated his lungs, and exhaled the rest of the toxin out. Oh, it was so nice to smoke wonderful Nicotine. Especially with how stressed he'd been lately. As it turned out, when he'd gone to see if Gaara was there yesterday, the Kazekage had been in a meeting with the Hokage and wouldn't be out of it until late that night. After that, Shikamaru hadn't yet gotten around to seeing if the redhead was still in town or not.

A noise behind him and the presence of another chakra signature made it so he didn't have to. He smiled vaguely and inhaled another lungful of smoke.

"You're not supposed to be smoking," his companion said, irritation creeping into his voice.

Shikamaru pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and blew the smoke out slowly, taking his time to answer. "Aa," he murmured finally, looking down at the drug in his hand.

His companion sighed. "Shikamaru..."

"It helps me remember." Shikamaru dropped the half-finished cigarette to the ground and stepped on it, eyes unfocused for a moment.

"Perhaps remembering is a risk to your health," was the annoyed reply. "Physical and otherwise."

Shikamaru laughed softly and shot the redhead an amused look. "You just don't want me to smoke."

Gaara scowled and crossed his arms. "Wonder what gave you that idea," he deadpanned.

The smile slid from Shikamaru's face, and he turned to fully face his best friend and - if he pulled this off right - lover. "Gaara, I-"

A quick shake of the Kazekage's head cut him off. "Let me say something before you go apologizing or something equally idiotic," he demanded, and when he was satisfied that the other wouldn't interrupt, he went on. "It's fine. I'm not going to demand anything of you. I've decided I'll leave it up to you. The offer will always be open, Shikamaru. Whenever you want... Just say so." He managed a small, grimace-esque smile.

For some reason, Shikamaru had a flash of him, five years from now, finally taking the Kazekage up on his offer only to meet his wonderful wife and three children. At the mental image, Shikamaru frowned and glared at his companion. "How troublesome," he muttered. He deflated, shrugging. "I accept." Well, he never had been one to beat around the bush, as Ino put it.

For a long moment, Gaara stared at him in surprise, unsure how to respond to the abrupt answer to the question he'd asked so long ago. He couldn't believe it. Maybe he'd misunderstood... "You... accept?" he asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "_Mendokuse_," he grumbled irritably. "Yes, I accept, Gaara. As in, I accept your request." He frowned. "As in, 'yes, I'll stay with you in Suna'." His frown vanished, replaced by a slight smile and he shrugged. "I talked it out with the Hokage this morning; she told me, and I quote, 'Get your mopey ass out of my office. I don't want to see you for any length of time in Konoha again'." He smirked. "I was apparently depressed."

Gaara was stunned. It couldn't possibly be that easy, could it? Could something in his life be going right? Certainly not... "Really?" he whispered, as if afraid that were he to speak it out loud, it would all turn into some sort of dream.

The expression on Shikamaru's face softened when he realized what Gaara was going through with this. "Yeah. Really," he replied with a gentle smile.

Hesitantly, he closed the distance between them, reaching up and touching the shorter man's face. Gaara didn't so much as flinch, so accustomed to Shikamaru's presence was he, and simply tilted his head back to look up at him. The Leaf nin took advantage of the position and slowly lowered his mouth to cover Gaara's, watching as darkened eyelids slowly closed after widening in surprise.

It wasn't like in the books Shikamaru often read, where the two kissing did so with much abandon and no restraint, nor was it like in the movies where they rarely kissed without tongue. It was simply a kiss, but nothing about it could be related to the way he'd kissed his mother when he was six before going to bed, or the way his father had kissed his forehead while tucking him in at that time.

It wasn't innocent, but it wasn't ridiculously indecent, either. I was just... a kiss.

Finally, though, they pulled apart, though not because they wanted to, or even because they were out of oxygen. Oh, no, it was much worse than that. Someone was snickering.

In full-blown annoyance, Gaara spun around and glared at the bushes a few feet away, even as the sound of someone being hit and the resulting yelp reached their ears. There was grumbling and the sound of paper, and Gaara began to shake. Silence fell. "Uh, guys?" someone - sounding suspiciously like Naruto - whispered. "He looks pissed."

"Really?" another - this one was definitely the Hokage - deadpanned.

"We should run. Like, now." And that was Kankuro.

Shikamaru smiled a very uncharacteristic smile of vindictive glee - he, too, was annoyed at the interruption - and waved at the bushes. "I'm not holding him back!" he said matter-of-factly.

"Shit." Neji, too? Damn. Gaara vanished in a whirled of sand.

People in Iwagakure could have sworn they heard screams.

-

**I tried to make this entirely serious... But it would appear that Gaara and The Betting Committee of Suna and Konoha had other ideas. *snorts* How else to you suppose Tsunade gets her sake money?**

**R&R! Don't just fave/alert! As of now, this story is officially over. However, I may put in an epilogue later, but don't count on it. They're too troublesome. XD**

**Mendokuse, as I have gathered, means troublesome. If you know otherwise, lemme know.**


	10. Nightmare

**Nightmare**

**Characters: GaaraxShikamaru,**

**Summary: It was all a horrible, terrible dream.**

**Warning: Vague OOC, spoilerish content, etc**

**Rating: T, just in case someone decides talking about sex should have a high rating.**

-

_"Would you like pancakes for breakfast, dear?" Gaara asked with a smile on his face and a big apron with little panda bears all over it._

_Shikamaru smiled back and nodded eagerly. "Why yes, honey!" he replied happily. "I always loved your pancakes."_

_Gaara giggled. "Oh, you're going to make me blush, Shika-dear." He giggled again._

_Shikamaru grinned and..._

... sat straight up in bed, screaming like he was dying. Once he realized that it was all a horrible, terrible dream, he managed to calm himself, though he was still staring at the door directly across from him in horror when it opened.

"Gods, man, what is your issue?" Kankuro demanded, glaring at him and running a hand through his sleep-rumpled hair.

Of course, that's when he smelled it. Pancakes. Shikamaru sat frozen in his bed, terrified to ask, for the next few minutes before he managed. "Pan... cakes?" he whispered. "That's not... Gaara, right?"

Face filling with confusion, Kankuro sniffed the air. A little bemused, he shook his head. "Nah, that smells like Temari's cooking," he said.

This was more than a little out of place. "What?"

"Gaara can't cook," Kankuro clarified. "So it smells like a burning building on the edge of a volcano when he tries." He frowned. "Why?"

"... no reason," Shikamaru muttered. "Where is Gaara, anyway?"

However, before either could say anything more, the bathroom to the side opened as there was the tell-tale sound of a toilet flushing. Gaara stepped into the room and scowled slightly. "You made me drop the toilet paper, Shikamaru," he said moodily.

Ignoring the admonishment, Shikamaru was on his feet in seconds and quickly across the room. Grabbing his lover by the biceps, he gave him a slight shake. "Don't ever, ever wear pandas. Or aprons. Got it? Never!"

A little dazed by confusion and the shaking (okay, so maybe it wasn't so 'slight'), Gaara nodded. "O-okay... Um... Mind telling me what this is about?"

Shikamaru dropped his head onto Gaara's shoulder and sighed, inhaling his lover's familiar scent. "It was just a nightmare," he muttered, nuzzling against Gaara's neck.

Gaara sighed and moved them to the bed, where Shikamaru lay his head in the redhead's lap. "Start at the beginning," his lover murmured.

Of course, by the time they were finished talking, three hours later, they'd already had sex twice and their pancakes were cold. Kankuro found it highly amusing that Shikamaru wouldn't touch the things, but Temari... Well, she was Not Happy.

-

**Yay! You got your epilogue after all! XD The idea came to me, so... Poor Shika.**


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